At first glance, one would have discarded the news as some company's attempt to use the AMD brand to sell memory modules, but it is indeed AMD selling memory. AMD is selling Radeon-branded DDR3 memory modules to the consumer market, not just OEMs, which were spotted in stores in Japan. AMD is selling certified DDR3 memory in three segments: Entertainment, UltraPro Gaming, and Enterprise. Entertainment deals with DDR3-1333 MHz modules that are best suited for home and business client PCs, UltraPro Gaming deals with DDR3-1600 MHz modules suited for gaming PCs of all shapes and sizes, while Enterprise deals with registered un-buffered DDR3 memory for use in AMD Opteron-driven servers and workstations.

While baffling, the move to sell its own-branded memory makes some sense. High performance DDR3 memory kits sold in the market today that operate at DDR3-1600 rely on Intel eXtreme Memory Profiles (XMP), a proprietary SPD extension by Intel to let users set the marketed speeds easily. AMD platform motherboards don't support XMP, leaving it at an obvious disadvantage. Radeon-branded memory use JEDEC profiles for 1600 MHz, along with certified timings and voltages to run stable and perform optimally. It might also be using AMD's own SPD extension called "Black Edition profiles", but CPU-Z doesn't seem to be able to spot that. Pictured below is the Entertainment 2 GB module, which uses AMD-branded memory chips. In Japan, the 2 GB module is priced at the equivalent of US $20. Other pricing information is unknown for the moment.

UPDATE (11/8): We contacted AMD to talk a little bit about these new memory products that surfaced literally out of nowhere. AMD told us that these are channel products, and as such they don't plan to sell it in a big way on the retail market:

AMD does not manufacture memory and does not plan to sell system memory directly to our customers. AMD is currently determining if the sale of AMD Radeon-branded memory through channel partners is a viable opportunity and as such it has appeared in some regions for purchase through retail.

Yep that is exactly what they ,They used these same chips on the cards Hence the AMD Radeon Branding,Hey they did say when they dropped Ati they would sell the Radeon brand in more ways then one in the Asian market.

AMD has loyalists who will flock to this. 4 amd by amd. No more excuses about compatibility. The price will be low so as long as its not garbage they can't loose. The enthusiast might not be impressed but the average joe (the meat and potatoes of the revenue makers) should b just fine.

The specs on the ''Ultra Pro Gaming Dimms'' look terrible to me, the timings are way to high for only 1600MHz.

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Memory tests on Llano made it evident that (1) anything beyond 1600 MHz is a waste of money and (2) that tighter timings don't translate into proportionally better results, hence they are also a waste of money. Now if you get these for free (by overclocking) ... I'm sure somebody is going to put these modules to the test soon enough so we'll be able to judge whether they are worth the money or not but I wouldn't dismiss them as quickly as you did.

The specs on the ''Ultra Pro Gaming Dimms'' look terrible to me, the timings are way to high for only 1600MHz.

And now people will start wondering whether or not they'll need AMD memory to make their AMD based system perform good.

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I agree, 11-11-11 is way to high. I also wonder if the two sticks are really the same memory. The screenshot shows that the 1333 sticks have a JDEC profile for 760MHz@10-10-10 already, so I'm guessing they just added a JDEC profile for 800MHz@11-11-11 to the same cheap RAM that they used with the 1333 sticks.

I know right? They should totally concentrate on making different sockets for the same chip before they worry about ram.

The real profit obviously comes from trying not to confuse average consumers instead of guaranteeing compatibility.

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There, fixed.

I think that the memory is a good idea. The majority of computer users have no idea what is compatible with each other. If retailers bundle these things with the processors, it is a guaranteed sale given that someone who isn't too computer saavy purchases them.

i like this. yes, its not high end OC'ers gaming ram... but its standard ram you know is going to be compatible, and work.

i'm sick to death of fixing systems where the only problem is users who installed ram and never manually set the voltages and timings right - and ram with JEDEC voltages and proper SPD timings is exactly the solution.

Edit: to clarify, i mean this is perfect for office PC's, budget gaming systems, etc. memory timings really dont change gaming performance as much as other components like CPU and GPU, so cheap compatible ram is exactly what 90% of users want (and most of those who get faster ram, never end up setting it to those faster settings anyway)

I think that the memory is a good idea. The majority of computer users have no idea what is compatible with each other. If retailers bundle these things with the processors, it is a guaranteed sale given that someone who isn't too computer saavy purchases them.

interesting, with memory amd bundles will have nearly the complete essentials of a rig. all they'd need after that is case, psu, and hard disk. And really with entering the memory market they could move into SSD's if they chose to.